Former Senator John Edwards has come out swinging in his bid to cement his place as the agent of change among a group of Washington insiders. In particular Edwards took shots at Hillary Clinton’s position as the darling of insider Washington. “The American people deserve to know that their presidency is not for sale, the Lincoln Bedroom is not for rent, and lobbyist money can no longer influence policy in the House or the Senate,” During President Clinton’s term in the White House, he invited top donors to spend a night in the esteemed president’s bedroom.
Edwards who is stuck in third place behind Clinton and Obama has been striving to cast himself as the true progressive and the true agent of change in the presidential race and has had some success with this tactic. Edwards has continued to be openly critical regarding the current efforts by the Congress to end the war and their inability to provide the other programs promised during the 2006 campaign when the Democrats retook control of Congress. He has continuously tied his Democratic opponents to Congress’s failures.
The Edwards campaign has made headway in some important states including Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Edwards often polls better than Clinton and Obama against their Republican opponents and has been using these polls to show his ability to win nationally. If Edwards continues to pick up steam with a solid progressive agenda carrying less of the baggage of some of his competitors, he could slide into the Democratic nomination. To more and more of the Democratic base Edwards is looking like the candidate that can beat Republicans and create real change in the country.